


Coming Out

by xxDestielFTWxx



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Homophobia, Hugs, I'm Bad At Titles, M/M, mild violence, so many hugs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-08
Updated: 2015-05-08
Packaged: 2018-03-29 14:53:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3900400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxDestielFTWxx/pseuds/xxDestielFTWxx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean and Cas have been in a secret relationship for three months when Dean decides to come out to his parents. It doesn't go well exactly...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coming Out

School's just ended and Dean Winchester, 17, is waiting in the parking lot for his little brother Sam. While he waits, Castiel Novak walks by and smiles at Dean when he sends a wink his way.

Cas is Dean's boyfriend. They have been dating for nearly three months now, but nobody knows about them yet because Dean is too afraid of his father's reaction. He knows that John has never been fond of homosexuality and since he is also very hot-headed and tends to use violence now and then - especially when he's drunk, again - so Dean isn't really looking forward to telling him about Cas.

But Dean also knows that it's not fair for Cas to be kept a secret. Yes, Cas understands Dean's reasons, but Dean still feels bad about it. And they have only been dating for three months now and it's already torture for the Winchester not to be able to just grab Cas and kiss him whenever he wants to.

That's why he's decided to tell them. He was already freaking out about it, but he would do it. He can do this.

Sam finally comes out of the school building and hops into the Impala. Dean starts driving, blasting AC/DC to try to drown out his own thoughts. _It won't be too bad_ , he tries to reassure himself. _He'll just have to get over it._

At home, Dean cooks lunch for Sam, who - even though he's only 13 - is a gigantic nerd and much too mature for his age. He also has the annoying ability to tell whenever his brother isn't feeling well. And he usually doesn't stop asking him about it until Dean tells him.

"Dean, what's up with you today? You seem pretty tense", he asks, as anticipated, while they're eating their pasta.

"Nothin'", Dean replies gruffly, not being in the mood to deal with his annoying little brother. But of course it wouldn't be that easy to get rid of him.

"You're lying. You know I can tell when you are. Come on, Dean. I'm not gonna stop asking you until you tell me, I swear", Sam says with a self-satisfied expression on his face that Dean wants to punch right off of it. He sighs heavily, knowing perfectly well that Sam wouldn't leave him alone so easily.

"Okay. It's about dad, y'know? I'm just nervous about telling him something he won't be happy about."

"Shit Dean, what the hell did you do this time?!" Sam asks, immediately assuming that he'd done something again.

"Nothing, Sam. You'll know it soon enough", Dean snaps, dropping his plate in the sink and storming up to his room. He really doesn't want to have this conversation right now. Instead, he tries to come up with a way to tell his parents about Cas.

He decides to call his boyfriend and tell him about his plans before he does anything else. He picks up his smartphone and dials Cas' number. On the second ring, he picks up.

"Hello, Dean", Cas greets, as usual.

"Hey, Cas", Dean replies, nevously. "Uh, I just wanted to tell ya--I mean, because of us, y'know? I want to tell them. I wanna tell my parents", Dean stutters out quickly. There's a long silence from the other side of the line.

"Are you sure, Dean? You said that your father would most likely flip out", Cas answers, and Dean can clearly hear the concern in his voice.

"Yes, I'm sure, Cas. Seriously. I can't stand it anymore not to be able to kiss you when I want, or to hold your hand, or do whatever the other couples always do. It's not fair for you to be kept a secret, you deserve more than that. I love you, angel, and I don't want us to have to hide anymore. And if my father has a problem with us than we'll find a way to make this work. Okay? I love you", Dean says passionately, and he's aware that his little speech was incredibly sappy but he doesn't even care. He meant every word.

"I love you, too, Dean. We can tell them if you insist. I'll be with you through this", Cas says with a sigh. He is nearly as afraid of John Winchester as Dean is, and he is not looking forward to seeing his reaction. But he also feels the same as Dean, he wants to be able to show his affection in public without fearing that someone sees them.

"Okay, are you free on Friday? I'm gonna ask my mom if you can come over from Friday to Saturday and we could tell them then, okay?"

"Okay, Dean."

"Good, I'm gonna ask her. See you tomorrow, Babe. I love you."

"I love you, too. See you tomorrow", Cas says, and ends the call. He is already dreading Friday. He just hopes Dean's dad won't take it too badly.

This night, he barely sleeps, plagued by thoughts about what could possibly happen when they come out.

XXX

After his talk with Cas, Dean goes downstairs and finds his mother in the kitchen, cooking. He presses a kiss to her cheek in greeting and hops onto the counter. 

"Hey mom, can I invite someone over on Friday for a sleepover?" he asks casually. Mary smiles and nods immediately.

"Of course, honey. Who do you want to invite?"

"Oh, you don't know them. I've only known him for a few months myself", Dean replies truthfully.

"Oh, good, I'm always happy to meet new friends of yours", Mary says exitedly. _Yeah_. ' _Friend_ ', Dean thinks.

XXX 

Friday comes way too quickly in both boy's opinion. Cas comes over to Dean's house directly after school and they hang out in Dean's room. Dean is just short of chickening out and calling the whole thing off, and Cas already had to calm him down several times before he goes into a full blown panic attack. 

They listen to music and play video games to distract themselves from what's to come, but eventually the unevitable comes when Mary calls then down for dinner. Dean starts shaking again and Cas hugs him tightly for reassurance. He presses a brief kiss to his lips and locks their gazes firmly. 

"It's gonna be alright, Dean. Whatever's going to happen, we'll deal with it", he says with as much confidence as he can muster. Dean nods weakly and they make their way downstairs, where a delicious lasagna waits for them in the kitchen. 

They sit down beside each other, Mary and Sam opposite them and John at the end of the table that's nearer to Dean and Mary. 

"Hello, Mr and Mrs Winchester", Cas says politely, shaking both their hands. "I'm Castiel Novak." Mary outright beams at him as she dishes out the lasagna. 

"Nice to meet you, Castiel. I'm always happy to meet my sons' friends. So, you go to the same school, I assume?" 

"Yes, we're in the same grade, too. My family moved here six months ago, Dean was one of my first friends at the new school", Cas explains calmly. How can he stay this relaxed? Dean's practically worrying himself to death beside him.

Mary continues her little game of twenty questions and Dean becomes increasingly uncomfortable. He can't help fidgeting in his seat and Sam is already throwing confused glances in his direction. Eventually, he can't draw out the moment of truth any longer. 

"Are you alright, Dean? You seem a little uneasy today", his father comments, and Dean feels all his blood drain from his face until he's as pale as a ghost. Cas grabs his hand under the table so that nobody sees, and squeezes it comfortingly. Dean has a deathgrip on Cas' hand and he knows it has to hurt the raven haired boy, but Cas doesn't let any signs of discomfort show on his face. 

"Ye--yeah, there is indeed something--something I need to tell you", Dean chokes out nervously. His parents look at him expectantly. "Please don't throw a fit, okay? Especially you, dad", Dean pleads with them. "It's just that--I need you to know that I'm...I'm bi, okay? And Cas is--Cas is my boyfriend. We've been together for three months now", Dean finishes his confession and prays for a mild outcome. He sees sympathy in his brother's eyes and happiness in his mom's, and he hadn't really expected them to have a problem with it. It's his father's reaction that he's dreading. A storm of emotions brews in John's eyes, and none of them are comforting to Dean. It's as if time's frozen for a minute, everybody just sits there stock-still.

Until John reaches out across the table and slaps Dean across the face, hard enough to send Dean's head flying to the side with a sick crack. Everyone gasps, shocked, and tears spring to Dean's eyes immediately, no matter how hard he tries to hold them back. A red handprints starts showing on his cheek, flaming in comparison to his sickly pale skin. His father jumps out of his seat, outraged. He points a finger at Cas accusingly.

"You! You little piece of shit! You ruined him! I didn't raise my son to be a damn little faggot!" he screams, and Cas gets up, too, pulling Dean up. He turns John's continuing yelling out as good as possible and drags Dean out of the house, grabbing the Impala's keys on his way out. The last thing he hears is John shouting something about this being just a phase and that they would break up soon and regret it. 

Cas is furious, but he forces himself to stay calm, for Dean's sake. He opens the passenger door of the Impala and Dean drops himself into the seat, not even caring that someone else is going to drive his baby.

Cas gets into the car and drives them to his house, Dean still crying beside him. He reaches over and takes Dean's hand in his again, stroking the back of his hand with his thumb comfortingly. 

When they arrive at Cas', he puts the car into park and they get out and walk up to Cas' house. He unlocks the door, realizing his hands are shaking a little, and lets them inside. He brings Dean up to his room, signalling his mom that he'll explain later as they pass her in the living room. 

Upstairs, Cas hands Dean a t-shirt and sweatpants and he changes into them quietly. He hasn't said a single word since his father hit him. He crawls into Cas' bed and Cas follows suit, pulling Dean into his arms. Dean buries his face into his chest and starts full on sobbing while Cas strokes his back and hair soothingly. 

He keeps telling him that everything's gonna be alright, that he loves him and will help him to deal with this, until Dean falls asleep eventually.

Cas gets out of the bed, cautious as not to wake his finally sleeping boyfriend, slips on a new t-shirt that's not tear-stained and walks down to where his mother is waiting on the couch with a worried expression on her face. He sits down heavily beside her and she pulls him into a hug immediately.

"What happened?" she asks eventually, after several minutes of just sitting there and comforting her son, who finally allowed himself to cry, now that he doesn't have to be strong for Dean anymore. He pulls back with a sniff and wipes the tears off his face.

"That boy, earlier, his name's Dean", he started to explain. "He's my boyfriend, we've been together for three months." Cas doesn't have to fear a bad reaction from his mom, she has known that he's gay for years. 

"But that's great, isn't it? Why was he so upset? Why haven't you told me about him earlier? You knew I'd be happy for you!"

"Yes, mom, I know and I'm sorry I didn't tell you. We haven't told anyone until today, because Dean was afraid of his father's reaction. But a few days ago he said that he wanted to tell his parents because he was sick of keeping us a secret. I agreed and we told them. His father flipped out completely, hit him and insulted us both, so I brought him here. I'm so angry, mom. His dad's an asshole and he hurts him and I can't stand to see that", Cas says, and belately realizes that he started crying again during his explaination. His mom drew him into another embrace. 

"You're right. He really is an asshole. Your boyfriend can stay here as long as he needs to, okay? I'm happy for you", she tells him firmly. Then she gets up and gets some ice from the fridge, wrapping it into a towel. "Here, take that for his face." 

"Thank you, mom", Cas says sincerely as he takes the towel. "Goodnight." He goes back into his room and slips under the covers. He takes the ice and presses it to Dean's swollen cheek and eye gently, making sure that it won't slide off when he lets it go. When he's ready, he wraps his arms around Dean and goes to sleep, too. 

When Cas wakes up again, it's only one hour later. He groans and closes his eyes to go back to sleep, before remembering the ice. He picks the towel, wet from the molten ice, up and throws it into the trashcan, not bothering to get up and put it away. Dean's face is red, but that's probably from the cold so Cas doesn't worry about it and falls asleep shortly after. 

XXX 

When Dean wakes up in the early hours of the morning, the first thing he notices is that he isn't in his bed. The second is the warm body curled around his. The third is a dull pain in the left side of his face. 

Slowly, the events from the day before come back to him and his fists clench unconsciously. Dean forces himself to stay calm for now, instead trying to enjoy Cas' closeness. He cuddles - and he would never admit to that, ever - up against his boyfriend and tries to keep all thoughts about his dad out of his mind. 

Cas awakes half an hour later and is greeted with a brief good morning kiss from his boyfriend. 

"Good morning, Dean", Cas says, voice still raspy from sleep.

"Mornin' Cas", Dean smiles. Cas notices that his face looks nearly normal, thanks to the ice. It's just still a little red where John's hand met his skin.

"My mom said you can stay here as long as you need", he tells Dean. His boyfriend's face falls immediately, he clearly doesn't want to think about this right now.

"I'm sorry, Dean." 

"It's not your fault, Cas. My dad's a homophobic idiot and none of what he said is true. You didn't ruin me and you didn't make me like I am; I knew I was bi years before I met you. And I'm not going to let you go because my father wants me to, you're more important to me than a guy who hates his own son for who he is. And I would love to stay with you, but I have to see my mom right now, she is probably worried sick about me. I'd like you to come with me, though, okay?" Dean bursts out, telling Cas everything that was on his mind at the moment. 

"I understand, Dean. Of course I will accompany you to your house", Cas replies and presses a lingering kiss to Dean's lips before untangling their limbs and rolling out of bed. Dean groans and gets up, too, and they both change quickly. 

They go downstairs and make breakfast. Cas' mom isn't up yet, but Cas makes a plate for her nonetheless. They sit down at the table and eat in silence, both of them lost in their own thoughts. The quiet is only disturbed when Mrs Novak comes downstairs. She sits down with them and takes a bite of toast, throwing a pitying glance at Dean.

"You must be Dean. It's nice to meet you. Did Castiel tell you that you are welcome at our house whenever you want to be here?" 

"Yes, he did. Thank you, Mrs Novak", Dean answers politely, but clearly uncomfortable. 

"We're going to go to his house after breakfast, his mom is surely worrying", Cas informs his mother.

"That's okay, darling. Take your time, we don't have anything to do today anyways", she says, understanding detectable in her voice. "But I bet you two could use a change of topic, don't you? So, how did you even meet each other?" she asks curiously. Both boys visibly relax with the different subject. Dean is thankful that Cas' mom doesn't insist on talking about his dad.

"We met at school. We're in the same grade and I was sat next to Dean on my first day. He introduced me to his friends, they're all very nice. We became friends pretty quick and three months later we had our first kiss at a party at Charlie's, she's Dean's best friend", Cas explains quickly. His mother nods, satisfied with the short version of their story. 

In the meantime, they all finished their breakfast and Dean and Cas head out of the house after putting away their dishes.

"Your mom's really nice, I like her", Dean says as they get into his car. Cas smiles at him and takes his hand as Dean starts driving. 

"I think she likes you, too", he tells him.

XXX 

When they arrive at Dean's house, they're surprised to see a small staple of boxes in the driveway. They get out of the car quickly and step into the house. 

"Mom?" Dean calls out loudly. Mary rushes towards them from the kitchen and immediately envelopes her oldest son in a tight hug. After several moments, Dean pulls back and he is shocked to see that his mom looks like she cried. Before he can ask her about it, she lets him go and embraces Cas instead, who wraps his arms around her hesitantly, and Dean almost laughs at his awkwardness.

"I'm so sorry you had to see that yesterday", she says to Cas, who manages a small smile.

"It's okay, Mrs Winchester. Dean warned me about the possible outcome of this, although I never expected.../that/, to be honest." 

"Mom, what's up with the boxes outside?" Dean can't stop himself from asking. She looks on the verge of tears again. 

"I kicked him out", she whispers, her voice breaking. 

"You did what?!" Dean asks, shocked. 

"I kicked him out", Mary repeats, more firmly and determined. "He'll be gone soon." Dean pulls her into a hug again.

"Mom. I won't be able to bear the thought that I'm the reason you broke up with him, I can't stand to see you hurt because of me", he says desperately. His mother pulls away a little and looks into his eyes.

"It's not your fault", she assures him, the same words he said to Cas not two hours ago. "It was a long time coming. This was just the last straw." Dean nods, processing things in his head. Soon, his dad would be gone. He might never hear from him again. To be honest, he wasn't really upset about it. 

"Why don't you and Castiel go upstairs, Dean? I'll call you down when the pie is ready, okay?" Mary promises them, and Dean visibly lightens up at the mention of pie.

"Thank you, mom. You're the best", Dean smiles and grabs Cas' hand, pulling him towards the staircase. Once inside his room, he closes the door and leans against it heavily. 

"You can stay for a while, right?" he asks his boyfriend, just now realizing that he hadn't done it before. To his relief, Cas nods and sits down on Dean's bed, patting the space next to him. Dean walks over and plops down on the mattress beside him. 

"Are you okay?" Cas asks him, placing his head on Dean's shoulder.

"Yeah, I guess. I don't know if it makes me a bad son or whatever, but I'm not even upset about him leaving", the green-eyed boy answers, his fingers finding their way into Cas' hair and running through the soft strands gently. 

"I don't think so, Dean. He hurt you. He doesn't deserve living here with his family if he can't even accept who you are. That's just a cruel thing to do to one's own family." Dean hums in agreement and shifts on the bed, so that they are both lying down, Cas with his head on Dean's chest, arms and legs tangled together. 

They just lie there in silence, both of them lost in their own thoughts. They both vome back to the here and now when there's a knock on the door and Sam sticks his head through the crack hesitantly.

"Come in", Dean says, not loosening his hold on his boyfriend. Sam steps into the room and sinks down onto the edge of the bed slowly. He looks at the couple and smiles, partly happy but also slightly worried. He never had a particulary good relationship with his father, in contrary, so he didn't really have a problem with John moving out, either. He was more worried about Dean, he feared that his brother would blame himself for what happened even if it wasn't his fault at all.

"I'm sorry, Sammy, I--" Dean started to apologize, but Sam cut him off quickly. 

"Don't be, Dean. You did nothing wrong. Dad has always been an ass, he never cared for us like a father should. I'm not angry at you, I'm kinda relieved that he leaves. I just want to make sure that you don't blame yourself for all this. I'm happy for you, it's good that you decided not to hide anymore", Sam assures him. Dean reaches up and ruffles his hair, making Cas laugh against him. 

"Thanks, Sammy", Dean says, for once forgetting about his 'no chick-flick moments' rule. 

"Yes, Sam, we appreciate your approval. Thank you", Cas throws in, still laying on Dean's chest.

"What happened yesterday anyways, after we were gone I mean?" Dean asks his brother, not one hundred percent sure if he even wants to know, but he kinda needs to.

"It definitely wasn't pretty. Mom was furious. Well, they both were, but for different reasons, obviously. She screamed at dad for hitting you and insulting you both. She even hit him a few times, I think. He was yelling, too, but I'm not gonna repeat that", Sam says with a sympathetic look at his brother and Cas. Dean can just imagine all too well what John probably said. He tries not to think about it too much. "Anyways, after at least an hour of shouting, mom told him to get lost. She practically shoved him outta the door. This morning, he was completely hung over when he came to pack his stuff." 

"I'm sorry you had to witness this, Sam", Cas says sympathetically, but the younger boy shrugs it off. 

"It's alright. We never got along well, and yesterday just showed me again how little he cares. We're probably better off without him", Sam assures him. They all sit in silence for a minute after that. "I think I'm gonna leave you two alone now. I guess I'll see you around more often now, Cas?" 

"I certainly hope so", Cas answers with a chuckle, leaning up to look his boyfriend in the eyes. 

"Of course you will, you dumbass", Dean rolls his eyes and pulls Cas down into a kiss. 

"Ugh, Dean!" Sam cries and quickly leaves the room and shutting the door. Dean breaks the kiss and laughs at Sam's horrified exclamation. 

Luckily, the whole coming out thing goes a lot better on monday at school. Most people either don't care or are happy for them, and the few who make dumb comments are swiftly ignored by Dean and Cas or glared at by their friends. 

XXX 

_ 10 years later  _

Dean and Castiel Winchester are sitting in the beloved Impala, a 'Just married' sign hanging at her trunk, driving off into their honeymoon. 

Suddenly, Dean starts to laugh for no apparent reason. Cas tilts his head at him questioningly, smiling at the man he just confirmed his love to officially.

"What's so funny?"

"I just remembered...you know, when we first came out and my dad said that this was just a phase and we'd break up soon?" he asks his husband. _Husband_. Dean feels giddy every time he thinks the word. Cas smiles, a little surprised that Dean brings it up, since they nearly never talked about John over the course of the last ten years. 

"You know, we should send him a card from our honeymoon. Just to annoy him and rub it in his face that he was wrong", Dean continues, grinning at Cas broadly. 

The blue-eyed man chuckles happily as he intertwines their fingers on the seat between them.

Dean may have lost his dad over all this, but it was a trade he'd do over and over again for the rest of his life.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Feedback of any kind as always very much appreciated!


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